Pushing implement



Ap 195}1 E. J. STRANDBERG PUSHING IMPLEMENT Filed April 9, 1948 I 2INVENTOR.

Edwin JSir'an-a? Z-er atented Apr. 24, 1951 UNITED STATES FATENT' OFFICEPUSHING IMPLEMENT Edwin J. Strandberg, Deadwood, S. Dak.

Application April 9, 1948, Serial No. 20,149

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to a pushing implement primarily intended for useas a floor jack for positioning boards in abutting engagement to form a,flooring and to provide means whereby the individual boards can be heldeffectively while being secured to the subfloor.

More particularly, it is a primary object of the present invention toprovide an implement of theaforedescribed character which will notmutilate the subfioor and which is capable of applying sufficientpressure for holding a warped floor board properly positioned while itis secured to the subiloor.

A further and important object of the invention is to provide animplement of the aforedescribed character of extremely simpleconstruction yet which will advance a flooring board by direct pressureagainst the outer edge thereof for correctly positioning it againstother floor boards previously applied and having means whereby theleverage of the implement will be varied.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tool having a novelmeans for detachably anchoring it to a subfloor or other surface at adesired location and which will eliminate striking the implement intothe subficor for accomplishing this result and which method does notpromote the accurate positioning of the implement.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an instrumentadditionally adaptable for use in positioning sheathing boards of wallsand which may be employed for pushing and holding heavy objects such asbarrels.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafterbecome more fully apparent from the following description of thedrawing, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, andwherein:

Figure l is a rear elevational view showing the pushing implement in anapplied position, and

Figure 2 is a side elevational view, partly in vertical section thereof.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the pushing implement in itsentirety is designated generally 5 and includes an elongated shankportion 6 having a pair of prongs l projecting from one end thereof. Theprongs i may be either formed integral with the shank 6 or suitablysecured thereto as by welding and are provided with tapered ends whichproject from said end of the shank t and which are disposed at a slightangle to the longitudinal axis thereof, as

best seen in Figure 2. The prongs l are arranged on opposite sides ofthe shank 6 as seen in Figure 1.

An elongated handle 8 is provided with a longitudinally extending bore 9which opens outwardly of the lower end thereof for slidably receivingthe opposite, upper end of the shank 6 and said handle 8 is providedwith diametrically opposed longitudinally extending slots l0 whichcommunicate with the bore 9 and which extend from adjacent the open endof the handle 8 to a point substantially intermediate of its ends. A rodll extends through the shank 6 adjacent its upper end and has endportions which slidably engage the slots 10 and headed terminals E2which are disposed externally of the handle 8. The rod H is so locatedwith respect to the upper end of the shank 6 that the handle .8 mayslide on said shank within the limits afforded by the slots ill and itwill be readily apparent that the rod M will prevent disengagement ofthe handle 8 from the'shank 6. The handle 8 is provided with anexternally roughened upper end 13 to provide an effective hand hold andis provided with a solid upper end portion'lfi for weighting saidhandle, for a purpose which will hereinafter become apparent.

The implement 5 also includes a bar or rod 15 composed of the portionsIt and H which are disposed at an oblique angle to one another. A workengaging head is is suitably secured to or formed integral with theouter end of the bar portion l6 and transversely thereof and the remoteend of the bar portion ll is provided with laterally spaced furcationsi9 which project therefrom and the free ends of which are adapted tostraddle theshank portion 6 adjacent its lower end and above the prongsI. Said free ends of the furcations H) are connected to the shank 8 by arivet or other headed fastening 20 for pivotally mounting the rod or barl5 relatively to the shank 6 and handle 8. The portion ll is ofapproximately the same length as the combined lengths of the portion l6and head it. The distance between the terminals of the prongs l and thepivot 2t is greater than one-half the length of the portion H and lessthan the full length of said portion H.

The implement 5 is shown in Figures 1 and 2 being employed as a floorjack and with the pointed lower ends of the prongs l embedded in aportion of the surface of a subfloor ii to which a number of flooringboards 22 have previously been secured. The implement 5 is disposed sothat the head [8 is spaced from the outer edge of the board 2?. lastsecured to the subfloor 2i and so that the next floor board to besecured, as indicated at 23, can be interposed between the head [8 andsaid last floor board 22. The handle 8 is then grasped by the gripportion 13 preferably with the left hand and swung counterclockwise asseen in Figure 2 or toward its dotted line position whereby the bar 15and head 18 will be displaced from right to left of Figure 2 to causethe head l8 to engage the outer edge of the bore 23 and to displace itfrom right to left and into engagement with the adjacent bore 22. Thecarpenter or user may then position his knee over the shank 5 or handle8 for holding the board 23 in position while it is nailed to thesubfloor 2|.- The bottom edge of the head 18 is disposed below the levelof the underside of the bar portion 16 for contact with the subfloor 2!and-so that the bar l5 will be disposed out of engagement therewith.Accordingly, since thebar is composed of the angularly arranged portions16 and H the head 18 will move in a horizontal plane while beingadvanced from its full line to its dotted line position of Figure 2 dueto the fact that the thrust will be along the axis of portion 16 andsubstantially parallel to surface 21, so that it will directly engagethe outer edge of the board 23 for exerting a straight thrustthereagainst in the plane of the boards 22 to permit the board 23 to beproperly advanced for engaging the groove thereof with the tongue of theadjacent board 22. Accordingly, where the tongues and grooves of theboards have a very tight fit so that engagement cannot readily beaccomplished by merely exerting a push on the board 23, the head 18 maybe backed away from the board 23 and the implement then actuated tocause the head to impart a blow to the board 23 to engage its groovewith the tongue of the adjacent board 22.

It will also be readily apparent that the handle 8 can be extendedupwardly with respect to the shank 6, as previously explained, forincreasing the leverage afforded by the handle 8 and'shank B.

In order to properly accomplish the aforedescribed operation, it isnecessary that the head 18 be initially positioned correctly withrespect to the boards 22 and 23 and so that the outer face of the head18 will be disposed parallelto the adjacent edge of the board 23 and ata correct distance therefrom when the shank 6 is in an upright position.This obviously could not be accomplished if it were necessary to projectthe shank 6 downwardly for embedding the prongs I in the subfioor 2|.However, it will be readily apparent that the prongs can be rested onthe subfloor 2! and with the head !8, properly positioned as previouslydescribed. The

4 handle 8 is then elevated with respect to the shank 6 and thenprojected downwardly with sufficient force so that the impact of thehandle 8 on the shank 6 through the rod II will drive the prongs lsufiiciently into anchoring engagement with the subfloor 2|. Theweighted upper portion 14 of the handle 8 enables this operation to bereadily accomplished with only a slight manual effort.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously beresorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventionas hereinafter defined by the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A pushing implement of the character described comprising an elongatedshank, piercing prongs depending from the lower end of said shank andadapted to penetrate a sub-floor surface, work engaging means pivotallyconnected to the shank adjacent its lower end for engaging and pushingan element when the shank is swung on the embedded prongs as a pivot inone direction, said work engaging means including an arm formed of endportions of approximately the same length disposed at an oblique angleto one another, the terminal of one of said end portions being pivotallyconnectthe last mentioned end portion for engaging the sub-fioorsurface.

. EDWIN J. STRANDBERG.

, REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 197,997 Chapman Dec; 11, 1877530,866 Vanhouten Dec. 11, 1894 1 ,148,046 Purdy July 27, 1915 1,801,810Goodson Apr. 21, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date SwitzerlandJune 8, 1920

